Sacrifice
by saiyurin
Summary: she is his princess, he is her servant; destiny divided, now they take the consequences. / AU medieval-setting, human names, based on daughter/servant of evil series.
1. epilogue

**warnings:** AU, unoriginal storyline, medieval setting(ish), human names

the new series i'm starting (finally), main characters being hk + taiwan, with the other asians as well.

* * *

"_A son!"_

"_A daughter!"_

"_No…"_

"_It's both?"_

"_Both?"_

"_Twins!"_

"_A curse, such a curse!"_

"_Our poor king and queen…"_

"_Kill one!"_

"_The girl!"_

"_The younger!"_

"_Get rid of them both!"_

"_Leave them be."_

"_Perhaps it's for the better."_

"_I wouldn't count on it."_

—

"_Hear, hear!"_

"_A declaration?"_

"_Our majesties of our radiant Kingdom of Gold would like their humble subjects to know that the queen has given birth to a healthy female child. Both are in well-to-do condition and request there be celebration for the new beloved child of our majesties."_

"_A girl!"_

"_How wonderful!"_

"_Congratulations to our king and queen!"_

—

"_One?"_

"_There's only one."_

"_A daughter, so I hear."_

"_What foolish oaf started the rumor of twins?"_

"_What a curse that would be."_

—

A man paces before the king and queen, his long dark hair pulled into a low ponytail. All three are dressed in elegant attire in shades of gold, red, and black. The room itself is fabulously decorated and elaborate, also in those same shades. Silk tapestries are drawn on the massive window, floor to ceiling, leaving a few dim candles as the only source of light.

The queen sits in a massive bed, cradling one child in her arms, her face looking pale and tired, and her brunette hair unruly and cascading down her shoulders. The king, also the brother of this pacing man, sits at the foot of his wife's bed, cradling another child. Both newborn children are as quiet as can be, and both parents look more tired than happy.

"_Your majesties, with all due respect, what are you thinking?"_ The long-haired man questions urgently, genuinely confused.

"_What ever do you mean, Yao?"_ The king replied, chuckling at his brother's urgent tone.

"_Announcing to the public that you had one child? You're certainly not planning to dispose of the other, are you?"_ This man, Yao, gestures to the male child the king is holding.

"_While both our magicians and priests say it would be wise to dispose of both, we don't wish to listen to them."_ The queen interrupts coldly. She had honestly never liked those men in long robes that claimed there were supernatural forces in the world. They simply annoyed her.

"_When the time comes, they will be put to use accordingly. Until then, you are to continue with life and not question our decisions."_ The king says with a smirk.

Yao frowns, displeased with the way his brother is making his niece and nephew sound like objects to be used, not children. He sighs when he remembers his own little girl, back in his wing of the castle. Yao hopes she will never have to deal with such responsibilities or hardships as his niece and nephew will have to deal with. He finally stops pacing and stands straight; addressing his brother respectfully, though he can catch a glint of malice in those dark eyes.

"_Yes, your majesty."_

—

"_Xiang, Xiang, look, look~"_

A small brunette girl skips to where her brother is sitting and places a crown of flowers on his head. She giggles happily, beaming at him in accomplishment. He gently touches the gift upon his head, and thanks her.

"_Oh, thank you."_

He returns her smile though more subtly, as he isn't well-suited to showing his emotions. She gathers the remaining flowers in her hands and throws them in the air, producing a flurry of yellow flowers and petals. Giggling happily, she runs around in them, getting them in her hair and clothes.

In her excitement, the small girl doesn't notice a ditch in the dirt. When her foot lands in it, she stumbles and lets out a yelp. Before she can fall however, her brother is there, catching her and helping her upright. Even at the young age of 6, he is quick and smart, while she is clumsy and silly.

"_Ah, thank you, Xiang. I didn't watch where I was stepping…"_

He smiles at her and brushes her off, but his eyes look stern. He scolds her, but his voice is soft.

"_Be more careful, Mei. Look."_

The brown-eyed boy points to the rose bushes behind him.

"_If you had fallen, you would have fallen into that."_

Her eyes widen when she catches sight of the thorns.

"_But I didn't, because you saved me!" _she chirps. With this, she hugs him. He strokes her hair in return.

Off in the distance, the two hear someone calling for them, but neither pay any mind to it.

"_What happens if I'm not around to save you?"_ he questions solemnly. She frowns and pulls away to stare at him, genuinely looking as if about to cry.

The calling becomes more urgent, but still the two pay no attention.

"_I won't let that happen… you always have to be around, to protect me! You can't ever leave me!"_

Tears begin falling from her eyes at this point. He pulls her close again, comforting her. Such a crybaby, she always has been.

Both can hear footsteps now, and the calling clearer.

"_Shh, shh. I won't ever leave you, and I'll always protect you, okay?"_

Their tutor and mother come into view. Their tutor looks more tired than anything; their mother, annoyed. She pulls the children apart from each other and takes a firm grip on Mei's arm, beginning to pull her away.

"_M-Mother, what are you doing? What's going on?" _the small girl asks worriedly. She extends her free arm towards her brother, the look in her eyes afraid. Her brother moves to assist her, but their tutor plants a grip on his arm, and he is unable.

"_Say goodbye to your brother for a while daughter, we have things to teach you and he is not involved." _Their mother says coldly. Mei begins to cry.

To both the twins' surprise, Xiang begins to cry as well. Both have their free arms extended towards another, both are being restrained, and both are growing further and further apart.

But mostly, both have a sense of foreboding.

Before his sister is lost in his sight, Xiang hears her yell something to him, and he barely understands her.

"_Do you promise?"_

He hears the echo of skin hitting skin.

His mother had slapped his sister. He bites his lip so hard he tastes blood; his tears flow more than ever before, and he struggles to reply.

"_Yes."_

But his sister is already out of sight, and he falls to the ground, crying in defeat.

* * *

Gosh, finally, eh? I'm slow, I'm sorry. orz Every time I tried writing it out, it came out all bad. :(

Anyways, here it is, the series I was talking about doing. ^^

**As always, reviews/ratings/comments/etc. are always appreciated and read!**


	2. chapter one: the west wing

**Chapter One: The West Wing**

In the west wing of the castle, a man with dark long hair pulled into a ponytail stood in a study. He looked over the shoulder of a boy aged about ten or so. This boy stared at the books in front of him placidly, his brown-gold eyes hinting feelings of boredom. His gaze turned from the musty books to the large window, and he sighed.

"Xiang, are you paying attention?"

"Yes… sir."

The man laughed and patted Xiang's head.

"Didn't I say you can call me Yao?"

"Sorry, Yao."

Yao smiled at Xiang. Xiang was a smart boy, though very reserved. He used to be more outgoing, just a bit, but… he changed. Still, he worked hard and did as he was told.

Well, that was what he was being taught to do, after all.

The long-haired tutor glanced at Xiang, who was still staring out the window absently. They spent most their days together, and Yao had grown a fondness for the boy. They got along. Both of them resented the king and queen. They ate together, studied together, and talked casually with each other. Yao thought of Xiang more as a little brother than a nephew.

Gathering up the books, Yao thought about everything. His brother, the king. His sister-in-law, the queen. His niece, the princess. His nephew, this boy he was tutoring.

How had he gotten so involved in this sad ploy of separating Xiang from the one he loved most?

—

"_Your majesties, I apologize, but I cannot bring myself to assist you. You know the bond between them is…well, unbreakable. Separating them would destroy them."_

Yao had pleaded with the king and queen, so many years ago.

"_No it won't. You'll understand."_ They had responded coldly, malicious half-smiles forming on their lips. Yao remembered shivering at that moment, an ominous feeling forming inside.

"_But your majesties—"_

"_Silence, Yao."_

He had done as told.

"_You will take Xiang and live with him in the west wing of the castle. Understand? You will tutor him and teach him to be obedient. We will take Mei and teach her ourselves, the way of nobility. Each will be taught for a period of four years, and then reunited. Good enough?"_

"_Why don't you teach Xiang as well?"_

At his question, the king had laughed. It wasn't a happy sound at all, more sinister than anything.

"_Let's just say, Mei will be much easier to teach. Besides, as far as the citizens know, we have __**one**__ child. Even the servants think Xiang is just an orphan child we took in as a playmate for our daughter."_

The king and queen seemed to be pleased with their deceit. Yao had resisted the urge to scoff at their response.

"_And if I refuse to take part in any of this?"_

Yao had expected them to look surprised, but they didn't. The queen just made a motion with her hands to one of the guards. Yao had felt his stomach turn when they brought out his beloved little girl, hands and feet bound in rusty shackles. She was only two years older than his niece and nephew at the time.

"_Papa, why are they treating me like this?"_ She was glaring angrily at the queen and king before them. She had always been more of an aggressive rebellious type, unlike him.

"_Y-You, what are you doing to her! Let her go!" _

"_Look at her, Yao. Do you like seeing her like this?"_ the king had questioned nonchalantly.

"_I didn't even do anything!"_ Yao had listened to his daughter retort. The only response she got was one of the guards yanking her dark hair, and she let out a cry.

"_Stop it!"_

Yao remembered screaming at the top of his lungs at the king and queen, not caring at the amount of disrespect he had just thrown at them. But this was his own daughter, bound and guarded as if she was a captive or criminal, not an eight-year old child.

Before giving them a chance to answer, he had made a move to run towards her, wanting nothing more than for her to be free and safe in his arms. But guards had restrained him as well, and he kicked and spit at them, curse words spilling from his mouth.

"_You cruel bastards."_

"_Now now Yao, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your darling little girl, correct?"_

"_She's your niece! How can you treat her like that, like a prisoner?"_

"_Agree to our proposal and she won't be thrown out of the kingdom."_

His insides had felt as if they had turned to mush. He had lowered his head in defeat, fighting back tears.

"…_fine. I will tutor the boy."_

As soon as the words left his mouth, the queen snapped her fingers and the guards removed the shackles from his daughter. The guards restraining him released their hold, and within seconds he had his daughters in his arms again. Yao had picked her up and carried her out, not speaking another word to the malevolent rulers in that room.

"_Papa, what did they want you to agree to?"_

Only then had he realized what exactly he had done, and it haunted him for years to come.

Yao had agreed to help sacrifice his niece and nephew's happiness in exchange for the insurance of his own.

—

Yao promptly snapped out of his own thoughts, resuming his duty of putting the textbooks back in their respective places. He took a look at his pocket watch, staring at it unblinkingly for a few seconds before returning it. He had been standing there thinking for much longer than he had planned.

He turned back to where Xiang was still sitting, the boy's gaze still out the window. Yao laid a hand upon the boy's shoulders.

"Aiyah, Xiang, what are you staring at? We were supposed to go and eat some time ago."

Xiang turned to him, unfazed.

"I wasn't looking at anything in particular." He stood up and waited, looking expectantly at Yao.

Yao felt a pang of remorse.

'_He probably knew it was time to eat, but said nothing. He will not lead, only follow. Because that is how he is to be taught.'_

The tutor forced a smile despite his inner feelings and put an arm around the shoulder of the boy, leading him out of the study and into the direction of the west dining hall.

'_Even if it is not for long, I want him to at least know something other than following.'_

So, they walked side-by-side through the halls, guilt gnawing at Yao the entire time.

Perhaps this was the real reason he had such affection for the boy.

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:)

I know it's not much (I'm noticing my chapters are quite short), but I'd rather take my time with character and background development than to rush into everything. Once things start to elaborate a little, I'll try to write more, okay?

Reviews, ratings, and comments are always welcomed and read~


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